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Showing pictures of slain children grouped together like a classroom photo to promote a political agenda is a new low. This is no better than the "journalist" of the past who'd run up to a victims family and try to interview them with "so how does it feel?" Pretty sick if you ask me.

@Iguana I do not think that advocating for better mental health CARE is out of context with what happened in Sandy Hook. JS is not using them as a poster boy, so to speak, but showing us that incidents like this could have been prevented. And what is low is denying that the reason these beautiful children and teachers lost their lives cause of guns, low is using them to further an agenda that doesn't relate to what happened. JS is trying to say that we should be looking into what is going on with our mentally ill and are advocating that we should fix the system that has LONG been broken. Did you know that Adam Lanza's mother was one of those end of the world nuts? Did you know that she knew that her son had some kind of mental problem with violent tendencies? Did you know that she did not OBVIOUSLY keep her weapons under lock and key to make sure that her mentally ill son did not get access to them? I bet not. This incident is the result of mental health issues not being dealt with and more will continue to happen if we do not start fixing the problem this is creating within our society.

I appreciate your reply but you are commenting on mental health and my comments are about the inappropriate use of photos of slain children to promote a political agenda. Obviously most people do not understand this. The discussions on gun control and mental illness will be what they are without tabloid "journalism". This has to be extremely insensitive to the families when pictures of their murdered children are shown to promote ideas they may not agree with, to say the least.

I just don't think that because someone does a heinous act like this, instantly means we diagnose them as suffering from a mental illness....in all honesty, it let's them off too easily to me, when there are literally millions of people who suffer from mental illnesses who do *not* commit heinous acts like this.....it's a slippery slope to me.....were the cowards who crashed planes into the twin towers mentally ill or evil??? are the cowards who hold neighborhoods hostage with crime and shooting spree's mentally ill or evil???

i believe some people are evil...I think there are some forms of evil that simply can't be explained....in this case, when someone makes the conscious decision to kill innocent children, as well as adults, I can't accept that it's mental illness that caused it, any more than I can accept the notion that guns kill people....the person behind the gun, is who kills and more importantly, makes the choice to do so....I can understand and even accept why some people think that mental illness is the cause, i just don't think, in this case, it is... and I also think that saying someone or something is "evil" is nearly taboo, even when the behavior or action *clearly* suggests exactly that....

So if a person is having a break and lives in Southeastern Wisconsin, they are brought,by the police, to Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex. Yet, they want to close this place down and turn the patients to the community. People are brought there by the police from other hospitals, homes, jails, and community based homes where most were sent to when they left the Mental Health Complex. Seems like some time needs to be taken to really figure out where some of these people are going to go. We all have read about the complex but I have to wonder how violent some of the pts are there but we never read about the amount of injuries caused by assaults by pts to the staff. I truly hope many of the violent people don't end up in the community until they too commit such violent acts as what we have seen this past year.

We ought to be doing many of these things anyway--however articles like this might lead people to wrongly diagnose or stigmatize people with mental illness.

But I've seen nothing indicating that the mental health system failed Adam Lanza. To the contrary, Friday's massacre seems to be the failure of single individual--his mother. She's the one who loaded up her house with all those weapons. It's a perfect example of why individuals who own guns should have to carry mandatory insurance policies to help pay for the carnage they can leave behind.

Thank you JS!!!!! @iguana and using the children for gun control poster boys is ok?

@portableremote ugh, if you have OBSSESSIVE AND HOMICIDAL thoughts then you ARE MENTALLY ILL!!!! These types like the lowlife that did this are criminally insane!!!!! It's just this sad society's way that having someone admit they need help stigmatizes them so they never seek it!!!! And that mom should she have lived, should have been charged with supplying him with the tools he needed. She went along with the "mainstream" and swept her son's mental problems under the rug, probably because she didn't want to be labeled and it lead her to her demise. It's gotta stop. We have to stop the shame in admitting mental illness exists and that treatment is just an "option", also, people who are family with mentally ill people have to stop worrying what others think about it. Cause if this way of thinking continues we are never going to PREVENT incidents like this! Guns are not the problem, people that refuse to seek help for mentally ill people are!

i never said nor would I ever say mental illness doesn't exist, I am saying that this coward, this low life was an evil individual....by all means we need to stop the shame in admitting mental illness but we also need to stop assigning this diagnosis, simply because we don't like to call people evil, which is exactly what this cowards behavior boils down to...so while there is a stigma that certainly does exist, there is still *more* than enough outlets (even anonymous ones, especially in the mothers profession) that allows for a person to seek help....I know it's not popular to say this is simply the act of an evil human being but that is exactly what it was....labeling the killer as criminally insane is fine, but first and foremost, to me he was evil....and we need to stop sugar coating evil or walking on eggshells to avoid labeling someone as evil, for whatever reason....and for the record, I feel so strongly about this because I know people who are suffering from mental illness, NONE of them or their parents swept the problem under the rug and what other people thought was the least of their worries....

portableremote: Define evil and what creates it. Are you saying that evil exists totally by itself and mental illness has no part in it? Than what makes evil, evil. Is it something that just exists without any purpose or cause. What makes a person evil? If I agree or disagree with a issue does that make me evil or a bad seed? You speak that you know people suffering from mental illness, have you asked them or there family members how easy it is to get help. Its a living nightmare. You are totally clueless inless you have had personal experiences with the mental illness network. It is a very difficult process.

@bob - with all due respect, has the definition of evil changed?? or are you suggesting that evil now means something different than it did, say 100 years ago?? To me ideas and people who are evil, the traits that personify that evil, don't change because the years do.....

the definition of Evil, according to any dictionary, is a variation of the following: doing morally wrong or bad things; to be immoral; wicked; harmful; injurious, disastrous due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character.

evil most certainly exists today and yes, I absolutely believe that it should not be associated with mental illness because the vast majority of people suffering from mental illness are not evil....and I'm not trying to convince anyone of that, mainly because doing so is futile.....and if nothing else, I can certainly agree to disagree...but as I've said repeatedly regarding mental illness, as it relates to this instance, the coward who killed these children was evil and as archaic or uneducated as that may sound to some, sorry, that's how I feel....no where am I saying mental illness doesn't exist...I am saying that identifying this person as mentally ill, to me, is a huge insult to all of the mentally ill people who do NOT (and that would be the great majority) engage in senseless acts of violence...

as far as my experiences are concerned, the people that I know that have required assistance in caring for their loved ones with a mental illness always spoke highly of the social workers and the therapists that they worked with....obviously the system is not perfect.... and yes, I'm sure there are nightmare situations in dealing with the system... please, show me where I said otherwise.... what you're doing is taking offense to something I said, internalizing it\making it personal and sense my opinion differs from yours (and probably many people), that's your justification for jumping to conclusions....like I said in another posting on the topic, teaching conflict resolution would do a lot of people good.... regarding hitler...really???

@portableremote I am glad that the people that you know are taking care of their mentally ill family members, but alas there are many people that do not, which is the problem. And there is a definite sub-culture of people that do not reach out or make intelligent decision when seeking care for their loved one. There are many people in this day and age that do hide if there is a problem and many that refuse to talk to someone about it, even if it means losing their lives over it because they have not acknowledged that their loved one is a danger to themselves and to the public. I know personally of families that have swept this under their proverbial rug and seen the damage it can cause when that ill person harms themselves or others. But to say that the blame rests solely on "evil" is just dark ages. Bob is right, evil people do have mental illness and Hitler and his family were documented to have it. Using evil is like saying that it alone is the bogeyman, its ridiculous. While I do believe that evil does exist, it in itself does not mean that the people are not mentally ill. I do respect your opinion and see why you would think that it is to blame, but it is an outmoded way of seeing things. Bottom line is mental health needs to stop being labeled as "mental" health and treated like any other MEDICAL condition, most of the mental diseases are being discovered to be much more than just in someones head, they are actually detectable defects in the brain that are just now being discovered in a clinical format and they are developing treatments that will show actual improvements in the person that suffers from it actual improvement instead of just handing them a "magic pill"

@Nastz- Thank you for your comments and I certainly hope that they develop treatments beyond magic pills because I don't have much faith in our human ability (at this stage anyway) to address these problems which have blown up over the past 40 years....i think this is a multifaceted problem for sure and obviously, as I stated mental illness exists but I respectfully disagree on the liberal application that the term "mental illness" is suddenly being applied....this multifaceted problem goes beyond guns and mental illness....we need to be looking much deeper at how we relate to each other and the importance of love, nurturing our children and not always buying into things because it's the conventional wisdom....

I am not a huge fan of David Letterman but this is what he said about the tragedy and it sums up my feelings as well...especially the last sentence- that last sentence is to me the reason why people have such strong feelings about this tragedy and what is the cause:

"Believe me, I'm not dumb enough to think that this is a problem of guns," he said. "Before there were guns, people were killing one another. And so you can't just say that it's guns. And you can't just say that it's mental health or emotional problems because people with all manner of problems don't necessarily kill each other."

Holding a sheaf of papers, he cited a document prepared by the show's researchers, looking at some statistics about firearms. "Fifty percent of the households in this country have guns. So we're never going to say you can't have guns."

And, "Since 1994, there have been 70 episodes of school shootings in the United States, after the Brady Bill had passed (in 1993). ... Good lord, really? Should there be that many? Does that surprise you?" he asked. "The problem here is so multifaceted."

We have to understand Lanza could of been any age. We have seen the stories of our elderly becoming violent also in recent media stories. Even a decade ago the idea of accepting a senior citizen that seemed very normal could become violent was not accepted.

When I encountered that situation it was a nightmare. People would not accept the person had a very violent side and threatened me with a gun. What I stole for real was his bullets for his gun and I threw them away. In his view those bullets represented his gold and magical powers. That man a senior citizen and once vibrant business man that I knew professionally for years had developed some sort of mental illness. Absolutely no one would believe me until recently.

We have this myth in our culture that we must not acknowledge an aged business person has mental health issues. His mental illness did peek out in court. Instead of getting him people not to notice slips in facts and his bizarre allegations. Changing evidence to hide his slips didn't help him. Instead of realizing the game was played to get me. The system works far to often against those that try to help for the mentally ill.

I am a convicted felon today because I would not return bullets to someone I knew was mentally ill and had unregistered guns. A guy who thought I was a cop's kid, got a sheriff to give me a computer in jail and was positive I was a cohort of the Milwaukee DA needed mental health services.

Luckily when that guy pulled the trigger on his gun it was unloaded or I'd be another statistic today. The incident was reported but the police report was mysteriously never filed.

I survived the ordeal and that is what matters. Not lawsuits or even overturning the conviction. Today I am an advocate for justice reform supporting many changes in our system except looser gun control laws.

'Behold my servant, whom I uphold,my chosen, in whom my soul delights;I have put my Spirit upon her;she will bring forth justice to the nations....a bruised reed she will not break,and a faintly burning wick she will not quench;she will faithfully bring forth justice.she will not grow faint or be discouraged....."

From working in the mental health field , as well as corrections, it has been my observation that drugs are the single, main cause of most of our clients' troubles. The abuse of drugs either causes a burn-out effect or contributes to schizophrenia. At the very least, a something-for-nothing attitude develops in which a person is unwilling or unable to work and expects society to provide great things. It is lucky that society doesn't experience more shootings or homocides as it is rampant, the amount of damage and numbers affected. The main reason that more doesn't happen is that many of these folks are so disabled by drugs that they cannot plan, carry out or assist others in big plans of destruction. It would also behoove society to make a concerted effort to discover the cause of the illness the shooter had.

Servant, since you volunteered it, please share with us your responsibilities/places of work/duration in mental health and corrections.

Then please explain why people start using drugs. If the majority are not self-medicating for learning disabilities, or psychological issues, or serious mental illness, or a combination, why do they take drugs?

What's your "gateway" drug, cigarettes or sugar (alcohol)?

Since you have such insight into mental health and substance abuse, please share why military suicides are at record highs. "Army, Navy suicides at record high" http://www.freep.com/article/20121119/FEATURES08/121119019/Army-Navy-suicides-at-record-high

What is the military doing to foster the "something for nothing," attitude you mentioned?

Its interesting Servant133 does not mention the rising problem of corrections guards and staff being involved in bringing drugs into prisons/jails for inmates. Concluding it was the drugs seems to imply awareness that this trade is going on. If guards can deliver street drugs say before someone appears before a pardon board it can be claimed they have not rehabbed.

We have a problem within the corrections system itself that is suppose to be caring for addicts and the mentally ill. Sexual assaults and drugs inside jails and prisons puts the guards in charge of deciding when they can be released.

There are numerous cases, arrests and convictions for corrections staff stealing inmate prescription drugs. How are we caring for them if we never medicate them and staff is stealing their drugs?

Corrections staff controls the entire environment for inmates and literally human life is property of the state or federal government. In that controlled environment corrections staff become the authority and control the evidence to support their theories.

I just read an article in a central Illinois newspaper about people that have been in the court system and have mental health issues.

Illinois state law requires County Clerks to notify the state police of these people because the state police are responsible for issueing the states FOID (Firearms Owner identification) cards for legal gun owners. If the state is notified of a person in the court system that has mental health issues, the state police will not issue that person an FOID card and I assume can revoke an FOID card. That person cannot purchase a gun or even handle an unloaded weapon in a gun shop. That person cannot legally have any contact with a firearm.

Sounds good, right?

Not so fast. A review of the system finds that the County Clerks are not notifying the state police as the law requires. Why? Well, because lawmakers in their infinite wisdom included a clause in the law that said a judge had to order the county clerks to notify the state police and no judge has issued such an order.

They created a system that could be helpful but are not using it because of a beaurocratic snag. It's rediculous, but it illustrates that the government trying to fix something is usually not the way you want to go.

In our rush to fix problems too often we envision what we don't have as being the answer. We forget to think about the resources we do have. A mentally ill grandma threw her grand daughter over a railing and killed her. Several mothers drowned their children.

Newtown CT has been the scene of other horrible murders but our media has not showcased the real history of the area. As messed up as the midwest might be its still far safer to live in within the great lakes region than the east coast.